Byzantium 1200

…more pictures, pages of them & then sailing to it (Yeats)

Byzantium 1200 is a non-funded and non-profit project aimed at creating computer reconstructions of the Byzantine Monuments located in Istanbul, TURKEY as of year 1200 AD. This project is partly inspired by the model of the old city in Rome and the famous painting of Istanbul by Allan Sorell which are shown [above].
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Albrecht Berger told me that our knowledge about 12th century was limited and almost nothing is known about the houses that people lived. He suggested choosing another century. But he could not change my decision and we chose 12th century's last year 1200. One of the reasons we chose this year was that 1200 was a few years before the Crusade. The Crusaders who came to the city on 1204 devastated much of Istanbul....On February of 1994, we began our project by reconstructing the Hippodrome.

Introduction to Byzantium 1200, and now Sailing to Byzantium, WB Yeats:

Old Pueblo, New Info

There's a new way to learn about the old pueblo in Tijeras according to the MountainView Telegraph. Both the Village of Tijeras and the ancient pueblo archaeological site (links below) are points of interest on the Salt Mission Trails Byway. See also the Virtual Salt Missions Trail project and the Salt Mission Trails blog

The front of a new sign at the Tijeras Pueblo Interpretive Center shows an aerial view of the site, a drawing of how the pueblo may have looked during part of its occupation, and an image showing the excavation process. The other side of the sign has information about a nearby garden.

The sign was installed this month by the Friends of Tijeras Pueblo. For those who make the trip out to see the new sign, there is also a free, self-guided trail at the site. The site is behind the Sandia Ranger Station, which is on the east side of N.M. 337 (South 14) and south of Tijeras. 

The interpretive center — which has historical displays and a few children's activities — is open for limited hours over the weekend and by appointment. Call 400-8687 for more information or to arrange a tour.

Old Pueblo, New Info

San Francisco apartments the size of parking spaces

Storify asks. "Could You Live in an Apartment the Size of a San Francisco Parking Space?"

Colorado Fires Update

Here are the newest additions to The Best Sites For Learning About The Colorado Wildfires:

• An Associated Press interactive.
• Obama tours site of deadly fire in Colorado from CNN.
• Reader Photos of the Western Wildfires from The New York Times.

Colorado Fires Update, from Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... by Larry Ferlazzo

Urban research: The laws of the city

This intriguing article on modern data collection and urban research, city planning and management relates to Mountainair only distantly and mostly through the classic "city and country" contrast image that first appears in Western literature in the work of Theocritus, who originated both pastoral poetry and city comedies. 


To echo the distinctions of Greimas's semiotic square, "here" is not just "not city" but about as un-city as possible in an era highways and high connectivity, have not been city since . Still, it reminds me of past city research (representation of urban space in literature) and leads me to wealth of "cityspace" links and new resources.

NO FACE looks alike, but human bodies and their genetic make-up are almost identical. Cities too have distinctive charms—but are surprisingly alike behind their façades. Regardless of size, their populations grow at the same average rate everywhere in the world. A city twice as large as its neighbour is likely to be 15% richer. The mix of green space and built-up areas tends to be equal everywhere. 

Such findings reflect a recent shift in urban research. Better technology has turned cities into fountains of data that confirm known regularities and reveal striking new patterns....

For example,

Twitter messages reveal a city’s structure and its activity. London has one centre, near Piccadilly Circus; New York has several, including near Times Square, City Hall and in Brooklyn. Tweeting correlates negatively with greenery, particularly in Central Park.

Application and implications abound...

City planners, too, may have to rethink their work. If cities indeed develop organically along certain lines, pushing them onto another track may be futile. Instead of trying to limit growth, planners should “make room”, says Mr Angel: be realistic when projecting urban land needs, set generous metropolitan limits, protect some open space and provide an arterial grid of roads. This is pretty much what New York did in the early 18th century. It is what some Chinese cities are doing now. 

Yet the most immediate impact of urban data will be on how cities are managed. 

So how will this change cities? Their nature or inherent "citiness," has held surprisingly constant through centuries and technological changes, from ancient Alexandria and Rome to medieval, renaissance and early modern (e.g. 1600's) cities, through 19th century industrialization and rapid urbanization to a world more urban than not. The tone of this article echoes city planning and management as science. Been there done that ~ more than once too ~ without making a dent in the essence of city. 

Read the complete article, Urban research: The laws of the city, in The Economist